All I Want For Christmas
by Girliegirl1179
Summary: Ranger gets an unexpected visitor and surprises for Christmas. Will he survive? This story was originally posted under my joint penname Cheekychicas with AshleyNicole86. Due to multiple reasons the story was never finished. I decided to fix that, along with a rewrite and edit. Rated M for Language.
1. Is A Virgin For A Daughter

All I Want For Christmas ...

Is A Virgin For A Daughter!

A/N: This story was originally posted under my joint penname Cheekychicas with AshleyNicole86. Due to multiple reasons the story was never finished.

I decided to fix that, along with a rewrite and edit.

Thanks to Ashley who helped create this idea many years ago. A big thank you goes to Jenrar, my fantastic beta.

I hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas.

**Chapter 1**

**Ranger's POV**

I loved my daughter, but seeing her standing on my front porch with tears rolling down her cheeks on Christmas Eve struck terror to my heart. Julie was a Manoso...and Manoso only cried for three reasons: births, deaths, and unintended pregnancies.

No one in our family had given birth recently, and I knew that Rachel and Ron were most definitely alive. That left only option number three. Shit!

I'd seen Julie just four months ago on her sixteenth birthday. I would've bet my company that she hadn't been having sex. I'd even had the guys from the Miami office tailing her when I felt it necessary. What the hell had changed? Maybe I had this all wrong.

Sure, Julie was a Manoso, but she was also Rachel's daughter, and Rachel cried about everything. I looked into my sweet daughter's eyes and prayed that I was overreacting. "Julie, what's wrong? And how did you get here?"

I listened to my daughter utter the words no father is ever prepared to hear. "I'm pregnant."

About the same time, I heard my wife shout from the bathroom. "We're going to have another baby!"

I stood starring open-mouthed at my firstborn child for a few seconds until I felt a tug on my pants. I looked down to see my son, Ricky.

"Daddy. My new puppy pooped on the floor."

I patted him on the head absentmindedly while I tried to process all the information at once.

"Ricky, go tell your mama I need her, okay?"

Ricky ran off yelling for Steph as I stared at my daughter. The sound of "Jingle Bells" filled the air as a pack of carolers turned into our driveway.

Stephanie walked up behind me, gaping at our daughter. "Julie? What are you doing here, and why are you crying?" Without even breaking stride, Steph immediately started blaming me. "And Carlos, why is she standing outside in the cold? I swear... What did you do? Forget to tell me she was coming? I always heard that woman are supposed to be forgetful after having kids...but you are worse than I am."

I turned to gape at her just as the carolers walked up the steps.

"What did I do?" I couldn't help the rise of my voice. "I didn't do anything! I opened the damn door! That's what I did!"

Julie started sobbing as the carolers stopped singing and starred at us, slack-jawed. Shit! I'd just yelled at Steph!

"I'm sorry, M-Mom!" Julie stuttered in-between sobs. "P-Please don't be mad!"

I stepped out of the way and tried to help Steph bring our teenage daughter inside the house. As I turned to shut the door, I saw the carolers still standing there. "What the hell are you doing? Can't you tell that now is not a good time? Go away!"

A man standing in the front row of carolers threw down his book of songs and shouted, "That's it! I'm tired of this shit! All we are doing is trying to bring a little Christmas cheer and happiness to our neighbors, and the only thanks we get is being yelled at by people. What's your problem, asshole?"

I don't know what came over the man, but one second, I was standing on my porch, and the next, this little man was smashing his fist into my jaw. Instincts got the better of me, and before I could stop myself, I'd knocked the guy out cold.

The rest of the people took several steps back, while one of them called the police. Lovely! Just what I needed! I heard the blare of sirens moments later.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Carl and Big Dog's cruiser pulled into my drive. I was thankful to see two friendly faces, guys who just happened to love my wife and tolerated me. Maybe I could manage to not get dragged off to jail tonight. After getting Julie settled, Steph walked outside to see what all the new commotion was about.

Carl looked at her with a wide grin and asked. "Steph, what have you done now?"

"Me?" She gave him an incredulous look. "I didn't do anything! Yeesh!" She huffed, turning on her heel and slamming the door behind her.

Big Dog started talking to the carolers, getting their side of the events, while Carl moved over beside me. "You carrying, Manoso?"

I grinned before answering. "Have you ever seen me unarmed?"

He shook his head at me before continuing. "I'd remind you against carrying concealed, but I realize it'd fall on deaf ears. So tell me what happened."

I gave him a quick explanation about Julie showing up on our doorstep and the guy punching me, while trying to leave out the part about the pregnancy.

Big Dog had edged over to us, catching the last bit of the explanation I was giving Carl. "Jeez, no wonder you hit the annoying little twerp." He looked at Carl and then me. "I convinced him to not press charges, but he wants you to apologize to his carolers for yelling, and he said it would be a nice gesture to pay for their hot cocoa break."

"Charges?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Believe me, Manoso. I explained that you would be the one pressing charges. You'd save me a lot of paperwork if you'd just say sorry for yelling, and give them a twenty for cocoa."

I sighed, figuring it was the least I could do. I quickly turned, apologizing to the whole group while pulling a hundred dollar bill out of my wallet and handing it over. I turned and went back inside without another word, slamming the door behind me. Walking into the living room, I found Steph trying to console a hysterically crying Julie.

"Stop crying!" I ordered, not really expecting it to work. Julie took one more deep breath, hiccupped, and stopped crying. "You're sure you're pregnant?" I asked.

Stephanie took in a sharp breath and glared at me. Oh yeah, she hadn't heard that part.

"Not you, Babe! Julie."

Stephanie tried to hide the look of shock on her face.

Julie nodded, confirming that I had heard her correctly. "Mom said I was sc-sc-screwing up my life like she did. She said I ha-a-ad to get an abortion!"

I looked sharply at Stephanie, who seemed completely astounded by the whole conversation.

"Julie, your mom was just surprised. I'm sure she didn't mean any of that. Does she know you're here?" I asked. My voice was calm, and I was trying to keep my blank face firmly in place. Truth be told, I was barely keeping it together. My little girl was pregnant.

Julie shook her head vigorously. "Dad, you weren't there. You didn't see her. She said I wasn't to tell you anything about it."

My blood was beginning to boil. "I'm calling your mom." I took out my cell phone and dialed Rachel as I walked into the kitchen.

"Hello?" There was Christmas music in the background, and Rachel sounded much too happy for her to have no idea where our daughter was. The whole thing pissed me off.

"You told her not to tell me? You thought you could just tell her to have an abortion and everything would be okay? That's not okay, Rachel! She's my daughter! Just so you know, our daughter is here. She's staying here. Indefinitely! End of story. Have fun at your party." I slammed the phone shut and stalked back into the living room.

Turning to face my oldest child, I asked, "Who's the father, and why isn't he here?"

There was silence for a moment, and then Julie looked up at me sadly. "Jason James Smith. I'm sure you can look him up. He deployed to Iraq three weeks ago."

The heavy silence in the room got heavier. I could see Steph's eyes fill with even more sympathy for our daughter.

I sighed. "You're staying here. When are you...due?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"August fourth," she said.

I nodded and paced a little. Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned to look at my wife. "Holy shit. You're pregnant?" I asked suddenly. I'd heard the words, but I hadn't processed them until now. I was going to be a daddy again...and a grandfather...at the same time! Thirty-six-year-old men were not supposed to be grandfathers! Christ.

Stephanie nodded and smiled at me. "Yes, we're having a baby!"

I sighed and looked over at my daughter. "You'll finish the school year here. Have the baby, go back to school, and then to college. You'll work at RangeMan to earn money. We'll help you in any way we can, but this is your baby and you will raise it. Understood?" I asked.

Julie nodded.

Damn right. Don't mess with Ranger.

I felt something warm on my leg and looked down. The puppy was peeing on me.

Sigh.

A/N: Let me know what you think.


	2. A Little Less Action & a lot Less Blood

**All I Want for Christmas…**

**Is a Little Less Action and a lot Less Blood**

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the story!

Thanks go to Ashley for helping create this little story and Jenrar for being an awesome friend and beta. :)

The same warning as last time for language.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Ranger's POV**

_**Christmas Morning...**_

I was woken the next morning by a three-year-old jumping up and down on my chest.

"Daddy, Daddy, Santa came," a squeaky and altogether too-awake voice shouted into my ear.

I pried my eyes open and peered over at the glowing alarm clock: five a.m. By the time I'd put together the Thomas the Tank Engine train table and assembled the track, it had been just after three.

I couldn't believe he was up already. Most days, he was like his mother. You had to drag him out of bed and put a donut under his nose before he'd even open his eyes. This morning, of course, he looked like he'd already had a few donuts, or possibly coffee.

"Did you drink your mama's coffee again?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shook his head frantically. "Nuh-uh! It's Christmas, Daddy! Wake up! Mama says I can't go in the living room until you and Sissy are up!" He was shouting now.

I wiped a hand over my face and sat up abruptly, dumping Ricky on the bed and making him giggle.

I stepped out of bed and grimaced at the Grinch pajama pants Steph had given me to wear last night. Walking toward the bathroom, I stepped in something wet and warm. "Fuck."

I heard a gasp from the bed and turned to see Ricky staring at me with wide eyes.

"That was a bad word, Ricky. Daddy's sorry. Please don't tell your mama I said that, okay?"

I looked down and saw a little brown nose poking out from under the bed. I bent down, picked up the puppy, and held him up to look in his eyes. "Not okay, Lucky," I reprimanded the culprit.

He whined, then licked my nose.

I sighed, setting the puppy down before walking into the bathroom to get a towel to clean up the mess.

Once finished, I walked over to the bed and reached down, picked up Ricky, and threw him over my shoulder. I set him down outside Julie's door. "Go wake up your sister."

He gave me an evil grin and asked, "Nicely?"

I thought about it before shaking my head no. "But no jumping on her stomach!" I added as he threw open her door and charged in.

I didn't even feel bad. The little troublemaker had it coming.

Walking toward the stairs, I paused and listened for Julie's scream. _3...2...1..._

Ricky came bolting from the room and flew down the steps.

Julie was right on his heels, shouting. "Argh! I'm going to get you, Ricky!"

I hooked an arm gently around Julie's waist as she tried to race past me. "Mi hija, no running down the stairs. You could get hurt. You're responsible for more than just yourself now," I said quietly, giving her what I hoped was a stern, yet caring look.

Julie nodded in understanding and gave me a hug.

I sighed. It was extremely hard to stay mad at her when she hugged me like this. A few years ago, I barely knew her. Now, I couldn't imagine my life without her in it.

We both chuckled as we heard Ricky scream from downstairs, "Daddy, you and Sissy are going to make me miss Christmas."

Julie smiled up at me before grabbing my hand and pulling me down the stairs. "Can I ask you something, Dad?"

"Of course."

"I know that I wasn't supposed to come up for Christmas until after New Year's. And it's okay if you don't..."

"Spit it out, Julie."

"Do I actually have any presents yet?" she asked timidly.

_"Of course you have presents." Madre Dios. _If was official. Even though she was pregnant, Julie was still just a kid. My baby was having a baby.

A few minutes later, after all the flying wrapping paper, the living room looked like Toys 'R' Us and Macy's exploded all over the room. The amount of presents the kids received was ridiculous, and we hadn't even been to Stephanie's parents yet. My wife and I had a hard time not going overboard.

I finally managed to get everyone upstairs to get ready for brunch at the Plum house by mentioning presents and the possibility of Helen's famous Christmas cookies. I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the chaos that always ensued at my in-laws' home.

As we finished getting ready, I thought about the night before. Stephanie and I had talked while setting up presents and decided we'd need a bigger house with two newborns on the way. We'd also discussed hiring some extra help. We'd start looking in a few weeks when things settled down from the holidays.

We loaded all the presents for the Plums into the SUV before driving over. As we pulled up in front of their house, I was surprised to see Frank joining Mrs. Plum and Grandma Mazur on the front stoop. As soon as I stopped the SUV, Ricky jumped out of his booster seat, flung his door open and ran to Frank. The love and admiration were apparent as Frank meet Ricky halfway. Frank was so happy to finally have a grandson that he spoiled Ricky rotten. Val's three girls were majorly jealous of their cousin.

"Oh, don't you look adorable!" Helen gushed at us as we climbed out of the truck.

Adorable wasn't the word I'd use to describe us. Ridiculous was more like it. Steph had dressed us all up in silly Christmas outfits. I had on a sweater with antlers and a red nose. _Antlers,_ _for Christ's sake!_ Hopefully no one would see me, or they might seriously debate my sanity.

Helen finally noticed Julie standing beside Steph. "Julie, sweetheart. What a surprise! I wasn't expecting you until next week."

"Hey, Grandma. I hope it's okay that I got here early."

"Sweetie, you're welcome anytime. Let's get you inside before you catch a cold. You can help me with brunch."

Everyone hustled inside and left me to haul in three loads of gifts.

After Christmas breakfast, presents, more presents, and cookies, Stephanie stood up and got everyone's attention. "I've got some exciting news. We're pregnant!"

Frank stood up and wrapped Steph up in his arms. "I can't wait to have another grandson."

Steph chuckled at her father. "Daddy, you know that there's no guarantee it will be a boy."

Helen stood up and playfully slapped her husband's arm before pulling Steph away from her husband. "What your father was supposed to say is all we want is a healthy, happy baby."

I looked over at Julie, quirking my eyebrow, wondering if she was ready to share her happy news.

She shook her head vigorously side to side. She wasn't ready to tell her "happy" news.

The sky was black when we finally got out of the house to head home, and there was a foot of new snow on the ground.

Stephanie looked at me, then back at the house. "Maybe we should-"

I didn't even let her finish the rest of the sentence. "No way in hell! Get in the car. I have four-wheel drive."

I checked Ricky's booster seat, made sure he was buckled in, and double checked that everyone else was secure before I took off.

About half way home, the snow was coming down harder, and I was slightly beginning to regret my decision. I slowed the SUV down to ten miles per hour and heard a sigh from next to me.

"What?" I asked my beautiful, pouting wife.

"I have to pee!" The tone of her voice conveyed urgency.

We were nowhere near any of the few gas stations opened. "Can you hold it?"

Steph gave me a death glare.

"I take that as a no." I looked around the car, grabbed an empty Gatorade bottle, and handed it to her. "I can pull over," I told her.

"No way! It's freezing out there! Stop at a gas station!" she said urgently.

"Steph, it's over ten miles to the next open gas station, and we're barely going ten miles per hour. Can you wait that long?" I asked.

She huffed at me. "Fine! Pull over!"

I pulled over, and she jumped out and disappeared over the small embankment.

"Is she seriously going to pee in that bottle?" Julie asked.

I nodded, causing Julie and Ricky to "eww" from the back seat.

I saw headlights coming up behind me, so I put on the hazard lights to let them know we were there.

Apparently, the flashing lights were more of a beacon instead of a warning, because the car rearended us. Luckily, the car hadn't been driving at a high rate of speed.

"Christ, are you two okay?" I asked.

Both kids nodded yes just as my cell phone rang. I flipped it open. "Yo."

"Bossman, your vehicle shows a collision."

"Yes, a car hit us. We're all fine, but I'd like police assistance and an ambulance to our location." I flipped the phone shut and got out of the SUV.

I leaned back in and looked back at the kids. "You two stay here."

As I walked back toward the car that hit us, Steph walked up the hill.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked with wild eyes, looking toward the kids.

"They're fine, Babe." I reached the driver's door, looked inside, and sighed. _Seriously?_

I jerked open the door and pulled the driver out. "You know better, Morelli," I said through clenched teeth.

Joe looked up and gave me a huge grin. "Ranger!" He looked at my SUV. "Ooooosp! I didn't do that, did I?" he slurred.

Stephanie wondered over and gave Morelli a disapproving look. "My kids are in that car, you drunk idiot! Julie's pregnant! You can't just go around driving drunk, you ass!"

Morelli looked down at Steph. "Haha! You're going to be a grandma?" he asked with a laugh.

Stephanie apparently didn't take to kindly to Joe and his laughter, because she threw the contents of the Gatorade bottle at him.

Joe didn't really seem all that phased, obviously not realizing he was doused in pee.

"Daddy!"Ricky yelled.

Steph and I whipped our heads toward the SUV.

"Sissy's hurt!"


	3. To Get Back Home

**ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS … **

_To Get Back Home_

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I haven't had a chance to respond to all of them yet. I will get caught up on replies tomorrow. :) I'm so happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the story!

Thanks go to Ashley for helping create this little story and Jenrar for being an awesome friend and beta. :)

The same warning as last time for language

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

* * *

Steph and I took off toward the SUV. "Julie!" Steph yelled as we reached the door.

There was blood on the seat, but I sighed with relief when I saw the cut on her hand. At least it wasn't the baby. There was a broken snow globe on the floor.

"What happened?" Steph asked.

"Ricky was playing with his snow globe from Great-Grandma and accidently dropped it. I tried to pick up the broken glass so he wouldn't get cut."

I shook my head. "So you picked it up to try to keep your brother from cutting himself and cut yourself instead." I pressed a T-shirt I'd received from Frank to the cut on her hand.

She looked at me and blinked. "It's not that bad."

Only a daughter of mine could have a huge gash on her hand and act like it wasn't a big deal.

"It's not that bad, _right_?" Julie asked me, her voice turning a little panicky.

I shook my head and kissed her cheek to reassure her. "No, _mi hija_, it's not that bad. But you're going to need stitches," I told her.

I saw the reflection of lights flashing through the SUV's windows . "Steph, hold pressure while I go talk to the EMTs and Trenton PD."

I walked toward the ambulance and recognized the two guys who hopped out. They'd worked on Steph many times before.

Mike walked to me and stuck out his hand. "Carlos, what happened?"

Carl and Big Dog got out of their cruiser and walked over to join us.

"Minor car accident. No injuries from the collision, but my daughter cut her hand trying to pick up some glass. Looks like it needs stitches."

Mike and his partner Trent began to walk away.

"Mike, Julie's sixteen and pregnant."

Mike seemed a little shocked before his professionalism took over and he took off towards the SUV. We followed behind him. When he reached the vehicle, he stepped up beside Steph.

"Steph, normally when we get these calls, it involves something you've done." Mike chuckled.

Steph turned away from kids and flipped him off.

"Nope, not Mommy's fault. Mommy was peeing in a bottle," Ricky interjected. He pointed toward Morelli and said, "He did it."

Everyone chuckled as Mike introduced himself to Julie. "All right, Steph. Step back and let me get a look at this cut. Ricky, scoot over to Trent, and he can check on you while I help your sister."

Ricky reluctantly complied as Mike started talking to Julie. "How did this happen?"

"Ricky was playing with his snow globe and accidently dropped it. It shattered, and he was going to try to clean it up. I told him to let me."

"Well, your dad was right and you're going to need a few stitches. Do you know how far along are you?"

Julie gaped at Mike before turning to me. "You told him?"

Steph saved me. "Mike has to know, sweetie. It's important so they don't do or give you something that can hurt the baby."

Once Julie's hand was bandaged, the guys chatted quickly before turning to me.

"Ranger, everything looks fine with both the kids, other than Julie needing stitches. We're going to take her to the ER to get her hand stitched. They might do an ultrasound as a precaution," Mike said as he started packing up his supplies.

"I'm going to send Steph and Ricky in with you guys while I help TPD deal with Morelli," I replied.

I helped load everyone into the ambulance, and Julie was complaining about having to lie on the gurney as I shut the door.

Then I turned to deal with the other pain in my ass.

Considering Morelli's usual temper, I expected there to be a problem.

"Joe, what the hell happened and what were you thinking?" Carl asked.

Joe shrugged and looked sheepish. "I was over at my girlfriend's house, and my mom called. Grandma Bella fell, and they needed me to come over. I didn't think I'd had that much to drink."

The guys shook their heads at him and started walking him toward the car.

I walked back toward the SUV and noticed the back tire seemed low. I yelled at Carl and Big Dog, "Would you mind dropping me off at the hospital on your way back to the station? The back tire's flat."

"Want me to call a tow truck?" Big Dog asked.

"No, I'll call RangeMan and send someone out to get it."

They agreed to give me a lift. The chains on the squad car got us to St. Francis fairly quickly, but I was shocked to see my family still waiting to be seen. The ER was busy, but not nearly as bad as I'd seen it on other days.

I saw Dr. MacKenzie, one of the doctors we knew well, and stopped him as he walked by.

"Carlos, what brings you here Christmas night?" he asked.

"This is my daughter, Julie. She has a cut on her hand that needs stitches," I explained.

"I'm sure that someone will be right with you. I'm sorry to hear you got hurt, Julie." He tried to scurry off, but I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"Or...I can get you taken care of now. Julie, follow me and let's get you fixed up."

Steph hit my arm for scaring the doctor. I looked at her and shrugged. The donations I gave this hospital should help me sometimes. Besides, I was only trying to get us home faster.

We all trouped back to a curtained area, and Dr. MacKenzie asked a nurse to bring him a suture kit. After we explained about Julie being pregnant, he gave her a numbing agent that he assured us wouldn't hurt the baby. Since she wasn't having any cramping or bleeding, they decided not to do an ultrasound.

I held her hand while she got stitched up. Both she and Ricky watched while the doctor while he worked.

Dr. Mackenzie finished up quickly. "I'm going to go grab the discharge nurse. Julie, let your parents know if anything changes, and come back here immediately if you have any cramps or spotting. Merry Christmas, everyone."

A few minutes later, Steph's friend Marley walked in. "Hey. It's been a while since you've been in here. You ready to go home now, Julie?"

"Yes!" Julie screeched. "This place is so boring. At least Dr. MacKenzie was hot!"

"Julie!" I barked, causing Steph and Marley to laugh.

"Every girl here agrees with you. But you shouldn't say things like that in front of your dad. You'll give him a heart attack." Marley winked at Julie before continuing discharge instructions. "Your hand will be sore, and you need to keep it dry and try not to use it too much. Take Tylenol if needed for discomfort and Benadryl if they itch. Come back in a week to have them removed here, or Mr. Brown can do it if you'd prefer." She handed Steph the discharge papers and let us go.

I'd called Lester on my way to the ER to tell him to send someone to pick up the SUV and us.

When we walked out, Julie and Ricky flew at Les and hugged him.

Les ruffled Ricky's hair and turned to Julie. "Hey, _niña_. I thought you were flying up next week. Since you're here early, you can come keep us company tomorrow. It's bowling night."

Julie nodded vehemently.

"Julie's grounded," I stated, causing all heads to turn toward me.

Julie gave a frustrated groan before whining, "Daddy! Why? What did I do?"

I felt like hitting my head against the wall.

"Running away from home? Showing up pregnant? Calling the doctor hot? Take your pick!" I said a little too loudly.

Les looked at me and then Julie. "Pregnant! You're sixteen! You can't be pregnant!" Lester said. He gave me a look of utter disbelief. "And you! If she's pregnant, you're taking this too well. What the hell, man? Why aren't we in Florida lynching the little punk?" His arms were flying as he paced back and forth, having a mini-meltdown outside the ER.

"Because the little _punk_," I spat out_, _"who did this is evidently in Iraq, and there's no one stateside to lynch. And I, for the record, am taking this as well as any father can in this situation." I ran my hands through my hair. "But what the hell am I supposed to do? Screaming at her won't do anything but make her cry, and that's not good for the baby." I sighed.

Lester shook his head, as if to clear it. "Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on here."

Ricky spoke before anyone else could. "Sissy comed home and is having a baby! And Imma be a big brother, too! All at once!" His eyes gleamed with pride.

This time, Lester's gaze fell on Stephanie and his jaw hit the floor. "_Joder!_ Pregnant? Both of you? _Dios te ayudas_, Ric."

Stephanie grimaced. "Santos! Language!" she admonished him as she helped Ricky climb in Les's SUV.

"Sorry, Bomber, but at least I said it in Spanish!" Lester smiled at Steph.

I shook my head, knowing his defense was weak at best.

"Les, come on. The kid knows more Spanish than I do!" she answered him as she climbed into her own seat and buckled in.

Julie climbed in beside Steph, and I climbed into the driver's seat. Lester slid into the passenger seat grudgingly, still seemingly in shock.

We were halfway home when Stephanie's phone rang. She checked the display. "Ric, it's for you!" She smirked before thrusting it into my hand.

I groaned as I looked at the display before flipping it open. I didn't even get to say hello before Helen was screeching at me.

"Pregnant? My grandaughter is pregnant? My sixteen-year-old granddaughter!"

I opened my mouth the say something, but Helen kept talking.

"Mary Jakowskie's granddaughter isn't pregnant! And certainly her daughter isn't pregnant at the same time. Why me?"

"Are you done, Helen?" I asked, becoming slightly annoyed.

"Hmph," was her only reply.

"Yes, Helen, Julie's pregnant. Yes, Stephanie's pregnant. You were ecstatic about our baby when we were at your house. Now you'll have two babies to love. Your grandchild and your great-grandchild." She was pissing me off. "I'd like to know why my mother-in-law is calling to bitch at us about a situation that we just learned about ourselves yesterday. The only thing this phone call accomplishes is upsetting Julie and Steph. You should be ashamed of yourself." I snapped the phone closed.

There was dead silence for a minute.

"Carlos, you probably made her cry," Steph whispered.

"Oh, come on. Like you wouldn't have said worse. It's been a while since I've told her off. She'll get over it, in a day or two, once your dad talks to her."

Julie looked over at Steph. "I'm sorry I made Grandma mad. Do you think she'll still love me?"

I sighed as I watched Steph wrap her arms around Julie. "Of course she'll still love you. It's just a shock. She didn't handle it the right way, and once she realizes what she said, she'll feel horrible. Don't let it upset you, sweetie."

I turned off Steph's phone after the seventh or eighth phone call. Once the phone was off, the rest of the drive was uneventful.

We arrived at the house, and I looked over at Lester. "Come on in, man. You're going to crash in the guest room tonight."

Lester stopped in the living room and gasped. "What the hell happened in here? It looks like a tornado hit."

Both kids started retreating upstairs to their rooms.

"Freeze!" I said to the room at large. "Anything left in this room that doesn't belong, besides the train table, will be gone in the morning!"

Both kids scrambled back and began to collect their Christmas bounty.

Stephanie went to help the kids clean up the living room before putting them to bed. She came back downstairs to find Lester and me working on laptops.

"What are you two doing?" Steph asked suspiciously, coming over to sit down beside me.

"Trying to find information on a little punk that needs to have his ass kicked," Lester said, fuming.

Steph looked down at my laptop and sighed. "Maybe there's more to this than we know. He may not be a bad kid. Dumb, yes. Bad...maybe not."

I gave my wife an incredulous look, causing her to shake her head.

"Just remember, you can't always judge a book by its cover. At least give the kids the benefit of the doubt." Steph pulled her own laptop over and began to run one of her search programs on Jason.

We looked over his school records and did a background check on him and his parents. He didn't have anything more than a speeding ticket on his criminal record, and his military record looked spotless. I wanted to contact an old buddy that had run his basic training. Everything about Jason seemed okay on the surface.

I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to say to him when I found him, but I knew I wanted to scare him so bad, he'd never touch my daughter again.

TBC...

* * *

Translations

Joder - Fuck

Dios te ayudas, Ric. - God be with you, Ric.

A/N: Please review.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. More soon. :)


	4. Is Relative Peace

**All I Want for Christmas…**

_**Is Relative Peace**_

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the story!

Thanks go to Ashley for helping create this little story and Jenrar for being an awesome friend and beta. :)

The same warning as last time for language.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Enjoy!

* * *

_**The next morning...**_

Woody walked in with the keys to my SUV and tossed them to me. He was grabbing a ride back to RangeMan with Lester. I'd left a message earlier for Sergeant Thomas earlier. He'd been Jason's CO during basic training.

Lester looked over at me. "Let me know what Thomas says when he calls. We need to either get Jason back here or drop in on him in Iraq."

"My goal is to call in enough favors to get him here. Steph would kill us all if I have to go halfway around the world to talk to him while she's pregnant. Besides, I promised her no more warzones." I walked over to the door to let the guys out.

Steph and the kids came down the steps, bundled up and ready to leave the house.

"Babe, where are you going?" I asked.

Steph raised an eyebrow at me. "It's the day after Christmas, Carlos. Where do I always go the day after Christmas?"

"You typically go shopping, but there generally isn't a blizzard happening outside, Babe. Besides, I'm pretty sure that between you and Santa, there isn't anything left on the shelves."

Steph gave me a Jersey-girl glare. "Did the babies get anything for Christmas?"

"Babies?" I glanced at her stomach. "T-Twins?"

Steph sighed and pointed at Julie. "Remember?"

I winced. _Babies, right! _"Babe, you can shop online if you must. But the roads are too bad to risk going out. Besides, Julie's still grounded."

"But Daddy!" Julie huffed.

"Julie, we've been over this. You're grounded...unless you can give me a good reason why—and I can't think of a single thing you could say that would change my mind."

Her face red, Julie looked like she wanted to argue, but instead, she stormed back upstairs.

"We're not through, young lady. Get back down here."

"I just wanna be alone, Dad."

Her door click closed, and I sighed in frustration.

Steph walked over. "Let her cool off for a little bit, then go up and talk to her."

Ricky pulled on Steph's hand. "Mommy, can I help you shop for my baby brother?"

Steph chuckled before following Ricky into the living room. "Ricky, it might be another sister."

"Can't we exchange it for a boy?" Ricky pleaded.

I followed them into the living room and spent a few minutes looking at things for the new babies while I let my frustration ebb. Once I finally felt calm enough, I walked to the kitchen and made some of Julie's favorite hot chocolate. Then I walked upstairs and knocked on her door.

"Come in, Dad."

I walked in and handed her the cocoa before sitting down beside her on the bed.

I decided to jump right into the problem at hand. "Julie, we need to talk. When I saw you four months ago, everything seemed to be going great. What happened?"

"I love him. That's what happened."

The possibility of falling in love at sixteen and it lasting forever was slim. I couldn't explain that to her, though. It was a lesson she'd have to learn herself.

"Look, Dad, I know I didn't handle the situation in the best way. I shouldn't have left Miami like I did, but I didn't have any choice."

"There's always a choice, Julie. You could have called me. I would have come for you. You didn't have to run away."

"The only thing I could think about was getting away. Mom was taking me for the abortion today. She confiscated my cell phone and took away the emergency credit card you gave me."

The more she told me about her mother, the more pissed off I became.

"I could have gone to the Miami office, but the only thing I could think about was getting here to you and Steph. I got the money and IDs from the lock box you hid in my room and bought the plane ticket."

"I understand that, but you're only sixteen and you're pregnant."

"I know that this isn't really the right time for me to have a baby, but I love him and he loves me."

"Does he know about the baby?"

"No, he was supposed to call me Christmas Eve."

I would get her phone replaced soon by calling it in as lost. In the meantime, I'd have Silvio pull up her voice mails.

"It'll be okay." _Now to convince myself it's true. _"Given those reasons, I understand why you left Miami the way you did. I still don't like it—to many things could have happened between here and there—but I get it. So the grounding is lifted. But you will be helping out around the house, so don't think that this...surprise means you get to lay around and do nothing. We'll talk school soon, as well." I gave her a hug and kissed her forehead.

Julie squeezed me tight. "Thanks, Dad."

Julie decided to read for a while, so I headed downstairs to talk to Steph. The doorbell rang as I reached the hall. I opened the door and groaned as I found Grandma Mazur smiling up at me.

"Hey, Hot Stuff. I brought a present that I couldn't give to you yesterday. Helen would've pitched a fit." She set down a silver case.

"Grandma Mazur, how did you get here?" I wondered.

She chuckled before motioning behind her. "My stud muffin, Stanley. He asked his grandson to come pick us up for the viewing tonight. Earl Folsom had a heart attack and died. His wife, Carol, came home and found him dressed in a bikini."

I needed bleach to wipe the visual from my mind.

"Anyway, I saw this advertised on an infomercial. I thought it'd add some spice to your sex life."

I shook my head at the batty old woman.

"Well, don't just sit there. Open it up," She said impatiently.

"I'll just give it to Steph later. I'm sure Stanley's grandson is ready to go," I said trying to delay the horror of the box.

"That's just silly. He told me to take my time," she said as she reached out and opened the case.

It took me a minute to process the contents of the box.

"Isn't it something? You could be anywhere in the world, and you'd be able to give Stephanie a little thrill." She smiled at me.

I blinked at her before yelling, "Steph!" over my shoulder.

Julie walked down the steps and looked in the box, making a funny face. "Dad, that's kind of gross!"

I quirked an eyebrow. "Just how do you know what it is?" I asked her impatiently.

Julie rolled her eyes at me, causing my earlier thoughts of giving Jason the benefit of the doubt to leave my head. Maybe I'd just kill him after all.

Stephanie and Ricky walked up behind me.

Steph looked inside the case and screeched, "Grandma! What do you think you're doing?" She looked at the kids and then back to her grandmother before slamming the case closed.

"Isn't it a pip? I got me one, too."

That was more information than anyone needed and way more than I wanted.

"Julie, take your brother upstairs. Please?" I asked.

She nodded and grabbed his hand, leading him upstairs to play.

Stephanie was trying to not chuckle. She seemed to see more humor in the situation than I did. "Grandma, we appreciate your thoughtfulness, but we don't really need any help in the bedroom department."

Grandma Mazur looked at me and wolf whistled. "I'm sure you don't, but just in case... You never know when things might get boring and you need a little spice." She chuckled and winked at me before heading out the door.

Steph shut the door before turning and wrapping her arms around me. "I can't believe she got us a cell phone-activated vibrator! What the hell was she thinking?"

It was official: the women of this family were going to be the end of me. I felt like dropping to my knees right then and there and praying for another boy.

TBC...

A/N: Let me know what you think. More soon.


	5. Is Planned Surprises

All I Want For Christmas...

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the story!

Dear guest reviewer, in response to your review asking for quicker updates since the story was already written. Please know that while some of this story is similar to the original All I Want For Christmas. Every chapter is completely rewritten or has been through major plot changes. I plan to update one to two times a week. Yes, I realize it's been a little over a week this time, but I was trying to figure out how I wanted it to go because of the changes I made from the original story line. Also, I am a full-time mom and I work a full-time job, so while I'd love nothing more than to sit at home and write fanfiction, it's just not feasible. But I make time to work on this story or my other stories a little every day because I love writing. Hopefully you will still enjoy the weekly or bi-weekly updates, even if you feel they aren't fast enough.

This will be the last chapter with any part of the original story. Hopefully you guys will like where the story changed from the original and where it is going from here on out.

Thanks go to Ashley for helping create this little story and Jenrar for being an awesome friend and beta. :)

The same warning as last time for language

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

* * *

I pulled on Steph's hand and led her into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, I stretched my legs out and pulled her down to sit so I could massage her shoulders.

Steph moaned. "Jesus, you know I love it when you do that."

"You love a lot of the_ things_ I do to you."

Her voice turned a little husky. "You know I do."

I moved my hands down to cover her belly. "I'm really happy about our baby. I'm sorry if I haven't been showing you that."

"Carlos, it's been a really stressful couple of days. You don't have anything to apologize for. I was thinking, though... I should probably call Dr. Grace and get Julie and me scheduled for our first OBGYN appointments. Do want me to schedule them on the same day or on separate days?"

"I'd like for you to go back with Julie, if she's okay with that."

"She already asked me to go with her. I can see if they can get us both worked in. With it being the holidays, they might have some openings tomorrow."

She reached over, grabbed her cell phone off the table, and quickly called Dr. Grace's office. From her end of the conversation, I could tell she'd been able to schedule the appointments one right after the other the following day.

"What did Julie say when you went up to talk to her?" Steph asked while she placed her phone down.

I quickly recapped the conversation for her.

"So what are we going to do about Jason? She obviously loves him..."

"Love at sixteen and eighteen? Call me a cynic, Babe, but when I was eighteen, I would've told my sixteen-year-old girlfriend whatever I thought would get me sex."

"Ugghh...you're such a guy." She playfully swatted at me. "Stranger things have been known to happen. Look at Mary Lou and Lenny. They've been together since high school. I know it will be hard for you to do, but at least give the kid a chance before you write him off."

I sighed. "I'm going to work on getting a replacement for Julie's cell phone. That way he can call her and she can let him know about the baby. Lester would love nothing more for us to drop in on him in Iraq and beat the shit out of him. And I go from feeling like that's the best idea Lester's ever had to feeling like an asshole, because I haven't even met the kid and I want to beat his ass for touching my daughter."

"I just got the chance to really get to know Julie the last couple of years, and someone's already managed to steal her away from me."

"I'm sorry to say it...but your baby isn't a baby anymore, Batman," Steph said with a sigh.

"I know, and it fucking sucks."

Steph chuckled. "Honey, Ricky is going to go back to preschool and start teaching his friends swear words if you don't watch out. Last time your mom called, she threatened to give you a swear jar for Christmas. You'd better watch out because if she hears you when they come up for New Year's, she'll try to make you eat a bar of soap."

"Babe, I figured out she was all talk at age twelve. Now. if it were Abuela Rosa making threats, I'd be worried."

"Since your parents are coming over next week, we could surprise them with our baby news."

"Isn't the dual-pregnancies surprise enough?" I asked sarcastically.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "I figured we'd tell them later in the day about Julie, but we could surprise them with our baby. We don't have to if you think it's a dumb idea."

I'd hurt her feelings, and it made me feel like an ass. "It's not a dumb idea, Steph. Mom will love it. What did you have in mind?"

"Well...I thought about getting Ricky a shirt, and on the front, it would say 'Oops, they did it again,' and the back would say 'I'm going to be a big brother 9/2.' Or I thought about getting them a new hard cover copy of _Where the Wild Things Are,_ since it was your favorite book, and we could write in the front of it: To Nana and Pop. Please read this to me in late August or early September. From Baby Manoso."

"I'm sure Ricky would like being part of the surprise."

"Yeah, he'll want to be involved, but can we trust him not to run up and yell for them to read his shirt?" Steph asked.

I chuckled. "That's the beauty of it. We won't tell him what the shirt says, and he can't read yet. So he'll be a part of the surprise and not even know it."

_What could go wrong?_

_**The following day...**_

Steph had taken Julie back to see Dr. Grace, and I was surprised to hear my name being called a little later.

I walked over to the nurse. "Yes."

"Your family and Doctor Grace would like for you to join them now that the exam is finished," the nurse replied.

She walked me down the hall to an exam room and knocked on the door.

Dr. Grace opened the door. "Carlos, it's good to see you again."

I nodded. "Nice to see you."

She closed the door and motioned for me to sit down beside Steph.

"Steph felt like you would want to be a part of this conversation."

I nodded my head, hoping she'd continue.

"As you know, Julie is pregnant, and she was pretty accurate about her due date. With her being sixteen, it raises a few issues. There is a higher risk to the pregnancy because of her age. Basically, we'll monitor her pregnancy a little more closely than normal. I'm concerned about stress, especially where her mother is concerned."

"The RangeMan attorney is already working on dealing with Rachel. At Julie's age, he says we can fully emancipate her if necessary, but most judges will allow a child of her age in this situation to pick which parent she wants to live with. If there are any complications, he will take care of them. She has no reason to worry."

"Good to know. I'm assuming you want me to send Mr. Brown detailed instructions like last time?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage him, Grace."

"The more eyes I have watching out for you both, the better." Doctor Grace shrugged.

"Yes, please send over the information if you wouldn't mind."

Doctor Grace nodded before turning back to Julie. "Julie, unless you have any questions, we're going to step to the room next door to check out Steph. You can get dressed and head out to the lobby if you'd like."

"I think you covered everything." Julie replied before looking at me. "I'll wait out front."

Steph and I followed the doctor to the next room for the initial baby visit. At least we were spared the full lecture, since the pregnancy with Ricky had gone so smoothly.

It seemed like no time at all before we were heading to the front to check out. Dr. Grace gently pulled me aside. "How are you holding up, Mr. Manoso? I can only imagine how stressful this is."

"How am I holding up? My wife and my sixteen-year-old daughter are pregnant at the same time. How do you think I'm holding up?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I think you seem to be holding up well, but I'm a little concerned about you. You don't seem to talk much, but in this situation, talking to someone might help."

"I know you're trying to be helpful, and I appreciate the concern. The situation with Julie was just a lot to take in. I'll be fine; we'll all be fine," I assured her.

Steph came back around the corner. "I was wondering where you went."

"I was just checking in on the father-to-be." Doctor Grace smiled before continuing. "The important thing to remember is that Julie will be okay as long as she has you and Steph supporting her. I know that she'll have the support she needs to deal with a teenage pregnancy."

Steph wrapped her arms around me. "We love Julie, and even though this isn't what we'd hoped for her at this age, she'll have our full support and love."

The doctor smiled. "I didn't expect anything less. I'll see all of you in about a month."

We walked out to meet Julie in the waiting room, and as I looked at my daughter and wife, I knew that things might be difficult, but Steph was right. As long as Julie had us behind her, everything would turn out just fine.

TBC...

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A/N: Well what did you think? Also, you get to vote. Tell me in your review how you want the baby surprise to go with Ranger's parents. Ricky wearing the shirt, or the book... You pick.


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